What can be expected for the future of the COVID-19 pandemic?

This appeared in The Millennial Source

According to a study published in the journal Science, vaccines are likely to become a permanent — though certainly less prominent — presence in our lives.

The latest coronavirus data yields more than a little optimism, but what can we really expect for the foreseeable future with COVID-19?

Dr. Travis Wilkes, Medical Director for EmpowerDX, a COVID-19 test approved by the Food and Drug Administration, tells TMS, “We have to be very careful forecasting since there can be many curveballs we don’t see coming, such as the recent issues with SARS-CoV-2 variants.”

Still, experts believe there is reason for optimism. On February 15, the World Health Organization (WHO) formally authorized the use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, a more affordable and easily-stored alternative to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Researchers believe that this will open doors for countries throughout the world that might not otherwise have access to a vaccine.

On an equally exciting note, the latest data from Israel shows a 94% drop in symptomatic COVID-19 infections among 600,000 people who received two doses of Pfizer’s vaccine, concurrent with the company’s projections.

The study is believed to be the first of its kind to show such a high level of efficacy for those ages seventy and older.